§ MR. BOLAND (Kerry, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education whether, with reference to the letter of the 19th March, addressed by the Board of Education to the manager of the Catholic Secondary School at Southampton, he is aware that for twenty-five years this school met local requirements, and that no application for assistance from the local education authority was made; whether he is aware that the Catholic day scholars are more than sixty, and not a little more than forty as stated in the Board's letter; and whether, in view of the fact that education is willingly provided in this school for children drawn from other sections of the population, and that the local education authority is in favour of the waiver of Articles 5, 23, and 24 of the Regulations, 321 he will state when this application will be granted?
§ MR. MCKENNAAccording to information given by the school authorities to His Majesty's Inspector on a visit to this school between the 21st and 24th of November last, there were then 60 Catholic scholars in all in attendance out of a total number of 124 scholars, but of the 60 Catholic scholars, 17 were boarders, leaving 43 Catholic day scholars, or little more than 40 as stated in the Board's letter. The argument drawn from the small number of Catholic scholars in the school has already been the subject of debate in this House, and I must beg the hon. Member to excuse me from continuing now a discussion which cannot be properly concluded in the form of an Answer to a Question.
§ MR. BOLANDThen am I to understand that because this Catholic school generously opened its doors to Protestant children it is to be deprived of the higher grant?
§ MR. MCKENNANo, sir; as I have explained, that is not the reason why.
§ MR. BOLANDI shall put a further question on this.